Elementary
by Sinnatious
Summary: SD3. The Eight Elementals of Mana debate, discuss, then debate some more. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I do not own SD3, Squaresoft, or any of their intellectual property. But oh, how I will. That probably won't occur in this lifetime, though, so don't hold your breath (I hear it's bad for you).

Author's Note: This piece was written for Cookie Pixie, who was the 500th reviewer for Another Witchmaker and her reward was a fan fiction of her choice! The basic outline was – 'what are the Elementals doing while in the heroes' heads?' I attempted to answer it in this one-shot. (Sorry about how long it took.) You don't really need to have read Another Witchmaker to make sense of it, but it probably helps. It's a bit different to what I usually do, and something of an experiment, so hopefully it came out okay.

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**Elementary**

By Sinnatious

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The trio were not the first they had Blessed, nor would they be the last. Many mages could use their magic, of course, and many Kingdoms relied on their protection. But these three were Special. Only those who were Chosen by the Fairy, the Goddess's personal emissary from the Mana Holyland, sent in times of crisis, were given not only the power of the Elementals' magic, but their personal blessing and protection. It was a bond of sorts, rather similar to the ones each of the Guardians formed with the Mana Stones.

It was a bond that also had the distinct disadvantage of making them a little crazy. Sometimes it was a little difficult to tell whether it was the mortal influencing the Elemental, or the Elemental the mortal.

"Undine, I'm tiiiiiiired," Salamando whined loudly. "I'm COMPLETELY burnt out! When can we stop and rest?"

"You are not the one who is tired, you fiery fool," the Elemental of Ice, Undine, snapped in response. "Do not forget – you are an Elemental, if a poor excuse of one. You do not GET tired."

"Sure I do!"

"Actually," Jinn, the Guardian of the Wind Stone intercepted, "You do not. Not in the classical sense. I believe it is the Blessed Ones who are tired."

The Elemental of Fire stared at them, aghast. "You mean… Undine is RIGHT about something! Well, blow me away!" There was an Elemental with an obsession for bad puns if ever they saw one. It was matched only by his obsession of disliking his polar opposite, Undine. Fortunately, the feelings seemed to be mutual.

"Yup! We've been travellin', say, at least two days without rest now!" Gnome announced, bounding into the conversation energetically. It continued to baffle his counterparts where a deity acquired such an odd manner of speaking. It was perhaps a side effect from spending too much time with the dwarf Watts. "Hey, Jinn, gimme your hat!" It was a sneaking suspicion of the others present that Gnome's odd obsession with hats may have sprouted from too much time with Watts as well.

"We are not currently corporeal, Gnome," the Elemental of Wind explained patiently. He was similar to Gnome in many ways, but appeared wiser and better spoken. "Besides, you already have plenty of hats. Why do you need mine?"

"'Cause yer hat is so cool, that's why! It's nay even a hat! It's like an upside-down cup on yer head!"

"Wisp! Where are we now!" Salamando yelled as the Guardian of the Mana Stone of Light appeared back within their figurative vicinity. Wisp, a congenial and relatively polite fellow, seemed to spend a great deal of time being summoned.

"I didn't really look. You could always just tap into one of the Chosen's minds and check," he suggested.

Though by all rights, the Elementals didn't need to follow the Goddess's Champions in order to bequeath their powers and protection on them, there was always a chance that their presence would be needed even when the Chosen didn't summon them. Wisp, for one, had felt the need to intervene several times in order to save their lives, and often they could provide warnings and advice that they couldn't from a distance. These three warriors with whom they now silently travelled would change history, and it was their duty to spend all of their time and effort guiding them – no other task was more important.

There was also the added bonus that so long as the three travellers shared the Blessing the Elementals were able to speak with them and the Fairy, as well as each other, on multiple occasions. They travelled much in a similar manner as the Fairy did; by abandoning corporeal form and anchoring their spirit forms to the consciousnesses of those with whom they had bonded. Sometimes they paid attention to events occurring before them, and other times, engaged in debate and meaningless chatter. It was still not quite as enjoyable as when they were summoned and assumed corporeal form, allowing for much greater depths of expression and interaction, but they were quite capable of communicating in their own unique fashion when travelling this way. Certainly to a much fuller extent than when they were all bound to their Stones, and were hardly able to ever converse at all.

Not that they seemed to converse terribly often as a whole, anyway. Most of their interactions seemed limited to Undine and Salamando squabbling, which usually drew in Gnome and Jinn, who were amused by the sight of the Water Spirit, with her icy countenance and regal air, lowering herself to childish word matches with her counterpart. Dryad seemed to spend most of her time acting like a nervous child and so shied away from participating in most discussions, content instead to settle in the Navarrian's head in the same manner the Fairy did everyone else's. It didn't prevent her from hearing what was going on or the others communicating with her, but it was generally considered bad manners to interrupt a Guardian when they were deeply immersed in the fabric of the Bond. Were they to care about such things, one might even label it as anti-social on the Tree Spirit's part.

Though in comparison to Shade, Dryad talked even more than Gnome and Salamando put together. The Guardian of the Lost Stone had been estranged from them quite some time. Moody and quiet, he instead seemed to immerse himself in his Bond with the girl. A concerned Wisp and Luna often debated whether or not he felt inferior in some way, having being a failed Guardian much longer than the rest. The mystery shrouding the Mana Stone of Darkness and its God-Beast was one of the more popular topics of conversation during periods of restlessness, but never once had the Elemental in question bothered to join the argument.

"I'm bored!" Salamando announced. "What in the blazes is going on out there! When's the next God-Beast battle?"

"So impatient," Undine scoffed.

"Let us pass the time by figuring out what happened to the God-Beast of Darkness. After all, we shall need to know eventually, I'm sure," Wisp suggested.

"We've already discussed this topic a thousand times," the Elemental of Ice snapped.

"Then let us make it a thousand and one," Luna offered, drawn into the conversation. Motherly, wispy and whimsical, the Elemental of the Moon was more than just a little strange at times. Gnome lost interest, and wandered off, no doubt to immerse himself in thoughts of one of the Chosen. Jinn remained, and so the five began to debate.

"The Fairy seems to believe it is gone for good. Perhaps vanquished by some nameless Knight long ago," the Light Spirit theorised.

"This is the same Fairy that suggested a rabite suit as a disguise for the exiled thief," Jinn pointed out.

"That is true."

"I wonder whether the God-Beast is a he or a she?" The Guardian of the Moon Stone wondered dreamily.

"Does it even matter?" muttered Undine. All the same, the topic of gender had become another favourite for discussion over time. It was concept that the Guardians had only been introduced to recently, and its novelty had yet to wear out.

Even though the Elementals did not have any discernible gender, the Blessed Ones seemed more comfortable when they assigned one to each of the deities, seemingly based on little more than pitch of voice, demeanour, and several physical characteristics that were familiar more to one gender than another. With Undine and Dryad, it seemed be their soft speech, long hair and hourglass figures that decided it. Luna's was quite possibly her sweet voice and motherly nature. Salamando had a deep, booming voice and a violent temper, though given how the Blessed Magician behaved on many occasions, the subsequent categorization of the Fire Spirit as 'male' confused the Elementals. What characteristics they had used to classify Shade was anyone's guess, as the Guardian of the Lost Stone rarely spoke and had no discernible human features whatsoever.

"It would be difficult to tell anything until we see any such God-Beast for ourselves," Wisp mused. "After all, it has been over a thousand years since the God-Beasts were sealed away, and there is no telling how they may have changed over time, or how they might change in this environment."

"If only we had been better able to guard our Stones," Jinn lamented.

"Hah! It doesn't matter! The Blessed Ones are far more important! 'Sides, I was getting sick of babysitting that BLASTED Stone anyway!" Salamando announced, though there didn't seem to be as much heart to his words as usual.

It was not easy being an Elemental by any means – they had access to enormous power, but even when in their corporeal form they often could not control it without a suitable channel. Thus it was rare that any of the Guardians could flex their metaphorical muscles without creating havoc. If Undine were to attempt to use any of her more powerful spells, for example, she was liable to cause widespread blizzards and tsunamis from the magic that would leak out. Smaller spells, on the other hand, while being much weaker, kept any sympathetic magic within a relatively local area. Normally, it was of little issue. However, the recent forces that had come seeking to unseal the Stones had not been swayed by the smaller displays of power, and none of the Guardians had dared attempt any countermeasures of larger scale for fear of possible repercussions, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Conducting their power through the Blessed Ones, however, there was no need to fear any leaking Mana, as the casters could only channel as much Mana as they could control. Their duties were only ever becoming easier, now. The Goddess's Champions were already approaching levels at which they would successfully be able to cast spells far more potent than the ones they had been using until now. The trio of warriors still occasionally needed their guidance while they became familiar with their magic, but over time and with practice, it had become unnecessary for most of the Guardians to intervene as the youths came to rely more on their own skills and magic rather than that of the Elementals. It was only occasionally that their presence was required in corporeal form.

Wisp was still by far the busiest of them, often disappearing with no warning, off to save the Blessed Ones from certain death. Indeed, the Fairy's Chosen seemed to wander into danger and close to death far too often for the Guardians to feel comfortable.

"I question the Fairy's wisdom in choosing these three," Undine announced all of sudden, her voice frosty with displeasure.

This immediately caught the attention of the other Elementals present, who gathered in a rough estimation of a circle, though in this form the term 'circle' was more for convenience's sake than any actual representation. Size and distance were meaningless to the entities when they were not in their corporeal forms.

Salamando was quick to leap to the opposite of whatever the Elemental of Water suggested, of course. "After those three pulled you out of the frying pan, you'd turn your back on them! How selfish! That kind of attitude BURNS me up!"

The blue Elemental heaved a suffering sigh, before averting her eyes, or the equivalent thereof when they possessed no form. "I did not mean to suggest that they did not earn their blessing, you presumptuous fool. Do not place words in my mouth. I was merely wondering about their suitability as champions of the Goddess."

"You don't think that there thief is suitable? I s'pose the Goddess would prefer ta r'ward the virtuous. Mebbe that sweet lil' priestess from Wendel? Or the Amazoness Princess from Rolante! Or even that kindly-old hearted half-Beastmen from the Moonlight Forest?" Gnome wondered, hopping meta-physically from foot to foot.

"I like him myself," Jinn offered good-naturedly.

Shaking her head in frustration, the icy Elemental explained, "That is not my issue. He has proven himself that despite his rather… disreputable reputation and often…. questionable methods…."

"That there Princess from Altena then? The Magician?" Gnome asked.

"Hey! Don't be picking on Angie! You're just jealous because she uses my magic more than yours, Undine!" Over time, perhaps due to the similar explosiveness of their tempers, Salamando had grown quite fond of the lavender-haired girl from Altena, and was one of the few Elementals that referred to any of the Blessed Ones by name when not in their direct presence.

Shade also chose to speak up at that point, having similarly taken an instant, though much more subdued, liking to the vibrant teen, perhaps sensing even upon meeting that she would favour the path of the Magus sooner than that of a Grandevina. "Indeed. She has a great deal of potential."

"I was not trying to suggest that the Magician was in any way inferior. She hails from the lands which I protect, if you have forgotten. As the crown Princess of that land, I have watched her grow since she was just a babe in arms." The Water Elemental was growing quite snappish by this point.

"Well, it cannot be the Mana Knight – the Fairy's first Chosen," Wisp pointed out, ever the pragmatic one. "Though he may sometimes be slow of mind, his heart is noble and true."

"You do not understand!" Undine was becoming quite frustrated. The reason she often avoided these 'conferences' of sorts was almost entirely due to the over-enthusiasm of her colleagues, who often spent hours in fervent debate about the wrong topic.

Luna, who had been observing the discussion quietly from the side, finally zeroed in on the cause of the Ice Stone Guardian's distress. "They are very young, I agree," she intoned quietly. "Sometimes I think they are too young…." Her voice trailed off pensively.

That had given their companions pause. On the outside, they were vaguely aware of the belligerent Princess trying to flirt with the Mana Knight and argue with the cheeky thief from Navarre at the same time. Fortunately, it appeared that this confrontation was to be settled with weapon rather than magic.

"They are just children," Wisp realised, sadness and regret lacing his tone. "I keep forgetting…. They seem to bounce back after every tragedy, every set back…."

Salamando scoffed at their concerns. "Don't be silly! These kids have a burning will that won't die! Age means nothing!"

Gnome enthusiastically agreed. "That's right! Mebbe they're young 'uns, but they gots US on their side!"

Jinn looked as though he wanted to say the same, but grew thoughtful none-the-less, his countenance assuming a sort of detachment and airiness usually assumed when he was imaging riding the winds. "They ARE only sixteen, seventeen at the oldest. The last time the Goddess was in need of a hero, the Champions were in their thirties."

Dryad had not really participated in the discussion, preferring instead to sit back and watch her colleagues argue about things that she erroneously felt she had no expertise or useful opinion in. All the same, she couldn't help herself from timidly interrupting. "Um, excuse me? They are only that old? I thought that they seemed much older."

The Elemental of the Moon, had she been corporeal, would have dimmed her soft golden glow at those words. "These children have already had so much of their childhoods stolen from them – it is no wonder they seem able to deal with issues so far past their age and experience." Collectively, the eight pondered this. There was no denying that they had developed an attachment to their bonded, and so even the stoic Shade felt a small up welling of sadness as they reflected that Luna's words were indeed true. The thief had been orphaned and left to fend for himself on the streets since the earliest memory they had been able to access; even in the thieves' guild he had been forced to train and steal in lieu of play. The Princess had grown up as all royalty did with enormous responsibility, though she did try her hardest to ignore it, as well as a distant mother who was forever disappointed in her. Even the Mana Knight, as naïve as he sometimes appeared, had lost his parents in unfortunate circumstances at a young age.

"They seem to cope well, regardless," the Guardian of the Wind Stone offered optimistically. "It speaks of great inner strength. Perhaps the Fairy chose them on that."

"You have not been bonded as long as I have," Wisp informed him primly. "To begin with especially, they were so uncertain…. The Princess was dealing with her mother's own rejection and loss of homeland quite poorly to begin with." By poorly he meant violently, but such distinctions were meaningless.

"The thief lost that lady friend of his and all of his Navarre buddies, too," Salamando piped up, unusually subdued, his metaphysical presence barely flickering as opposed to its normally blazing state. "He was real burned out after that. Even the Fairy was worried."

"And the Mana Knight has yet to receive the greatest shock of all….," Shade reminded them quietly. Again, the gathering fell silent, all quietly lamenting the Goddess's laws that prevented them from revealing certain things to the Blessed Ones. The last time a Fairy had chosen…. That had been a disaster. So many years ago now…. Though it was but a blink of an eye to their eternal existences. It had been so hard on those Heroes, and this was a fiasco of even greater proportions. Taking on Mana's enemies in the Underworld was one thing, something that tended to occur once every couple of generations; defeating the God-Beasts, whom even the Goddess herself feared, was something else entirely. A debacle of this proportion had not been seen in millennia.

"What was the Fairy thinking!" Undine was most displeased, and probably would have lost her temper were she capable of it. "Choosing CHILDREN when the world could stand to end!"

"Mebbe she wasn't!" Gnome suggested. "She musta been pretty tired after coming ALL the way from the Holyland!"

"Too true." Infuriatingly, the more reasonable Jinn always seemed to side with the bouncy and poorly spoken Elemental of Earth. "Why, I remember last time I went – I was positively exhausted from the journey!"

"That was a couple of hundred years ago," Luna reminded the other Guardian.

"But it was such a memorable occasion! The Goddess threw such a great party! Why, whenever we leave the Stones these days it always seems to be because of some sort of strife or business!"

"The Goddess spends most of her time sleeping. The mere fact that she awoke just to have a get-together is about the greatest compliment you will ever receive." Undine's admonishments were capable of freezing your toes off, and maybe even a portion of your legs as well.

"Can I really be blamed for wanting to have more than one holiday a millennium?" Jinn complained.

"You would think the Goddess would get lonely up there more often with only those BLASTED Fairies for company," the Fire Spirit grumbled.

"Yes, I mean no disrespect to the Goddess's current emissary, especially knowing what she may become in the future…. But quite honestly the Goddess has far too much patience," Wisp admitted, looking sheepish. "I get along with her well enough, but she drives the Blessed Ones mad!"

"Doesn't even stop to consider that we have to deal with their emotions through our bond, either," Undine observed coolly, inspecting webbed hands that didn't exist in this form.

Surprisingly, the mystical Luna had her protests also. "I have to agree. Especially with the Mana Hero himself. The Knight is the patient sort, but the poor dear isn't too quick on the uptake – she only confuses him. I fear he doesn't understand even half of what she spends hours telling him. He needs his sleep more than he needs Mana theory."

"She BURNS me up! Getting all smarmy with her 'holier-than-thou' attitude as if she were the HOTTEST thing around! She hardly helps at all! Just sits back, talks a lot, and lets everyone else do all the work when the HEAT is on!" Salamando puffed himself up in emphasis.

"I say you're letting the bond with the girl rule you too much again, Salamando," the Water Spirit declared. "Even in the unlikely event that I concur with your vulgar opinions, that sounds suspiciously familiar."

Indeed, 'outside' an eerily similar conversation floated within reach of their comprehension between the angry Princess and indignant Fairy.

"Holyland forbid we have to endure a thousand years with that," Shade murmured so quietly they were not entirely sure if the mysterious Elemental of Darkness had even spoken.

"Aye," Gnome agreed, spinning on one foot. "Let us hope it won't come to THAT."

"Just because The Tree is withering does not mean it will die," Wisp firmly reminded them. "Such measures are only a failsafe. And while it IS looking bad, it would be remiss of us to lose faith."

"Pretty lousy failsafe if ye ask me. I can't see this lot havin' any faith in the Fairy when she's actin' like THAT around 'em!"

"Well, that is a good point."

"URGH! She just won't listen to reason!" the Fairy announced, suddenly intruding on the conference as she disappeared back into Duran's head. Unlike the Elementals, the small deity did not possess the same ability share the bond with all three of the Chosen at once – ideally, her bond was supposed to mostly be with the Mana Knight, but she often became bored and wandered over to the Princess's and sometimes even the Thief's consciousnesses. Regardless, because of the common bond she was able to interact with the Elementals much in the same manner that they did each other. Looking around curiously at the sudden silence, she asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"No, nothing," Jinn was quick to answer. "Just… you know… shooting the breeze."

"Hm. Whatever," she remarked flippantly, clearly unbothered. The Fairy was not the most observant of the lot sometimes, but got away with it because her link with the Blessed Ones made her privy to information and feelings in their minds that would otherwise have been left to speculation. The Elementals were currently running a betting pool – including Gnome's favourite hat, which he had won in their previous betting pool, and Salamando's enchanted stove – that the Goddess's emissary would soon cave to temptation to reveal the Magician's thoughts and feelings to the two men, with bets varying on what the results would be. Not that the Fairy knew about this.

That was certainly going to be a mess if it did come to pass. Especially seeing as the Fairy was so reluctant to enter the Navarrian's head, and so remained unawares of a great deal of information that the Elementals, particularly Luna and Dryad, had picked up. Indeed, the tiny deity stood to muddle things up spectacularly.

"So, I haven't seen you lot gather like this to talk for a while," she said brightly, having dropped the formal pretences after the Blessing had been administered. "That might explain Duran's headache."

It was probably more from the Fairy's endless preaching as well as two and a half days without sleep, but the Guardians chose to say nothing.

"How is the battle against the God-Beasts going?" Wisp asked congenially in an effort to change the topic. Realistically, they already knew the answer, but they often found themselves discussing things they already knew anyway. If nothing else, another opinion might make the debate more interesting than usual.

The Fairy projected conflicted thoughts. "They're doing far better than I expected, but it still won't be enough."

"They have come a remarkable distance already," Luna commented softly.

"What if they die? What if we fail the Goddess! What will happen to the world?" Of all the Fairies to make it, they had to get the one that had the unfortunate tendency to panic.

"There is always a way," Shade intoned.

"That's right," Dryad affirmed in a rare display of confidence. "Mana is not so weak as you think."

They were all quiet at Dryad's words. None dared ridicule the Elemental of Wood, though at times it seemed far too easy to do. Her powers seemed so weak and useless, and she herself seemed so unsure, that they were prone to disregarding her, however accidental it sometimes was. Yet even the more rambunctious of the eight could already deduce that there was far more to Dryad that what met any ordinary senses. The mere fact that her Stone had been the very last to fall spoke of greater competence and power than what she normally exuded. Perhaps it was because the Goddess herself took the form of the Mana Tree, and yet, was not the realm of trees within Dryad's element? Even the demure Elemental's magic seemed so much more pure, at times, and they often wondered about what other magic she may possess but was too nervous to share. Jinn had even theorised, once, hundreds of years ago, that maybe the Elemental of Wood was the Goddess herself, hiding amongst them in a guise that would not raise suspicion. The idea was swiftly rejected, of course, but the other seven often could hardly contain their curiosity whenever the Goddess showed Dryad such favour.

Of the many topics they often discussed, the curiosities of Dryad were interestingly the most often avoided. It was rare that there was a warrior compatible enough with the Tree Spirit to use any of her more powerful magic, so all of the Elementals were curious to see what would occur when the Navarrian made use of her magic beyond the Sleep Flower spell he'd used thus far. The last warrior who had been blessed with her protection had been a Sword Master who had used the Elemental's magic to enchant his sword to steal an enemy's magic from them. Luna's higher end magic too would be of interest. The same Sword Master of the past had used his magic to enchant a sword to steal strength, and they vaguely remembered a Death Hand several hundred years ago that had used some of the Moon Spirit's more powerful magic as well.

"True. But I still wish that I had more time to prepare them," the Fairy continued on crossly. "Angela has some small knowledge of Mana theory, but hardly enough to guide her safely through the more dangerous powers. Hawk and Duran are almost clueless, though."

"It shan't matter," Shade assured her, though it seemed more a misguided effort to end that chain of the conversation. "Not knowing the intricacies of Mana theory will not prevent them from using their power and developing their potential effectively."

"How can you say that! Angela is already a Delvar! She's halfway to becoming a Magus already! Do you KNOW what kind of havoc a Magus can create!"

"I imagine it will be interesting," Luna commented airily. The others murmured their agreement. It would be an amusing discussion later indeed.

"Besides, any of the three, should they reach their full potential, have the ability to cause havoc. You merely show an unfair prejudice against a darker path, Fairy," Wisp advised. "My magic alone cannot be used to solve every problem. We must simply have faith that they won't misuse it as others, such as the Magician of the Red Lotus or the Necromancer Deathjester have done."

"That wasn't our fault, though!" the Fairy replied, aghast. "They received their power illegitimately from the Underworld! If we create the monsters, the blood is on our hands!"

"Mana must be balanced before anything else. Any affairs that occur later are of no interest to us," Undine intoned coldly.

"But for amusement," Jinn interjected.

The Water Spirit expressed her agreement. "But for amusement."

"You lot are impossible!" the Fairy announced, but was soon distracted from continuing her rant by events outside. "What are they thinking of doing NOW! Honestly, I can't leave them alone for five minutes!" With no farewell, the Goddess's emissary vanished once again from their presence and into the corporeal world.

"Betcha they wish ya would," Gnome muttered as he shifted metaphysically from foot to foot.

"May I join the betting pool?" Dryad asked unexpectedly. "I'll add in a branch from the World Tree."

The other Elementals eyed her suspiciously, mentally checking their own bets. Only Luna seemed unworried. It was highly unusual for Dryad to join in these kinds of activities, but given that Luna and Dryad were the Elementals who had the deepest connections with the enigmatic thief from Navarre, they were likely privy to information the others were not aware of. Even the Fairy herself had only entered the thief's consciousness a number of times. But the World Tree Branch that Dryad sometimes carried was a worthy bet, so it was quickly accepted into the pool.

"Name yer terms!" Gnome demanded enthusiastically.

As Dryad outlined her bet in a nervous, quiet voice, the others took a step back to evaluate the situation. Most were the certain that the Fairy would mess things up spectacularly – though Undine seemed to be of the opinion that relations between the Blessed Ones would become messy whether the Fairy interfered or not, which also caused them to wonder what she knew and they didn't. Wisp and Jinn were the only ones who had presented any faith at all in the Goddess's emissary.

Things were changing again, though – that much was obvious with Dryad becoming more involved. What had they missed? Nothing in this world was certain anymore, and perhaps it never would be again. The fate of the world rested in the hands of mere children, and despite their power, most of the time the council of Elementals could do nothing more than sit back, watch, and debate.

Dryad finished placing her bet, with only Shade remaining to cast his. The others waited patiently, but the reclusive Elemental of Darkness merely went about his own business, wandering off to no doubt immerse himself in the fabric of the Delvar's bond.

The ensuing silence stretched for several moments. Dryad soon meandered off again also; presumably to similarly bury herself in the Ranger's thoughts, and Wisp resumed his frantic vigil over the Blessed Ones as a whole, watching for any sudden or life-threatening injuries that required his healing touch.

Growing quickly bored, Jinn suggested, "The Blessed Ones are making steady progress towards the elimination of the God-Beasts. Perhaps we should discuss what fate has befallen the God Beast of Darkness, lest it become an issue."

"We have already discussed this a thousand and one times," Undine complained in exasperation.

The other were not deterred. "Then let us make it a thousand and two."

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